Federal nuclear regulators are set to vote Thursday on approving construction of two new reactors at Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission last year approved the design Southern Company is using to add two new reactors at its east Georgia facility. Now the commission is set to give its final OK for construction and operation.

Federal safety officials will vote Feb. 9 on whether to approve what could become the nation's first nuclear plant in a generation. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a hearing on the Atlanta-based Southern Co.'s request to build two new reactors at Plant Vogtle in eastern Georgia.